Couple of Hours Drive?

What is within a couple of hours drive from Chicago? I am visiting Chicago and would like to see another city too.

Couple of Hours Drive?

http://www.milwaukee.org/

Couple of Hours Drive?

Springfield, Illinois, is about 3 hours away, but well worth it if you are a fan of Abraham Lincoln. The new Lincoln Presidential Museum is wonderful and not at all stuffy.

There is also the New Buffalo area on the Michigan/Indiana border right along Lake Michigan, as well as the Lake Geneva area just over the Wisconsin border. Not cities but resort areas. Might be nice if you%26#39;%26#39;re coming when it%26#39;s warm out.

Gary, Indiana. Jackson 5 were from there.

Route 66, the mother road starts in Chicago, and you can drive a bit of the atart of the rout, stopping at a few of the landmarks along the way...

http://www.historic66.com/

www.historic66.com/illinois/det-il1.html

I would not consider going to Gary, as the previous poster mentioned. It is rather run down and not the safest of neighborhoods for visitors.

ANother fun thing is a minor league ball game depending on when you are here.

In the western suburbs are both the Schaumburg Flyers and the Kane County Cougars. Way less expensive and more intimate than a major league game.

www.flyersbaseball.com

www.kccougars.com

Like the other poster, I would recommend Milwaukee. It is only 90 min drive and there is much to do. It is the closest bigger type city with plenty of attractions.

- Go on the Miller brewery tour or go on one from Sprecher or a Lake Front Brewery tour.

- Harley Davidson museum.

- Get a drink from the Safe House.

- See a play or go to a musem.

- Shop in the Old Third Ward.

There is plenty to do on the drive up as well. there are a million outlet malls and there is a Jelly Belly outlet store and mini tour.

Indiana Dunes is about 1 hour east of downtown Chicago and has beautiful wooded hiking, swimming in Lake Michigan, a gorgeous beach with sand dunes, and your typical outdoor activities.

Also east of Chicago is the Lighthouse Outlet Mall in Michigan City, IN. It has great shopping in an open-air mall. You can get there from downtown Chicago on the South Shore train - its an electric train and an interesting ride through the south suburbs %26amp; NW Indiana. Easy day trip from downtown.

You could also drive 2-3 hours north to Wisconsin Dells for interesting scenery and lots of tourist traps (duck boats, museums, cheese shops, etc.)

Though a nice enough city, Milwaukee is in many ways a smaller version of Chicago - so if you%26#39;ve seen and liked Chicago, Milwaukee will probably seem a disappointment. In ths Summer months, though, Milwaukee hosts scores of very nice festivals at a special, permanent festival grounds on the lakefront and some of them are lots of fun to visit.

For nature lovers, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore park can be an especially pleasant place to visit. Michigan City is on the way, and you could stop there, visit the casino, have a meal in town, visit the outlet mall, etc. I like the city - Michigan City, and the Dunes also.

Kenosha, Wisconsin,a shorter drive than Milwaukee, can be enjoyable for many, too. And, along the way is the Illinois Beach State Park.

I visited Whiting, Indiana (almost on the Illinois/Indiana state border line) for a pierogi fest a couple of years ago and was so very pleasantly surprised by the architecture in the center of the town that I%26#39;ve been meaning to return during non-fest times to appreciate it more.

Just some suggestions/thoughts of mine without spending too much time thinking about the question.